Boosted Dragon
by Elven Sorcerer
Summary: What if Issei had been more proactive about his self-proclaimed objective of becoming the Harem King. Lemons. Issei X Multi.
1. Chapter 1

Issei lay on his bed, examining the ornate metallic gauntlet on his hand, tight enough to be mistaken for a grafted prosthetic by a casual observer. Its presence was unbelievable. When he woke up, Issei had been ready to write off the disjointed memories of the previous night as a particularly nasty dream. A dream where his date for the day had sprouted blackened wings and attempted to kill him, an aim she seemingly succeeded at. Issei remembered the creeping cold as his blood flowed out unrestricted, blackness invading his vision.

He was ready to write those impressions off, if he didn't also remember the sudden appearance of a weird gauntlet, the same one that he was currently sporting over his left hand. He also remembered the rush of energy flowing to his body with the gauntlets appearance, an energy potent enough to counter the weakness borne the blood loss, momentarily at least. He would have said it was a figment of his overactive imagination, if it wasn't for the same rush of power, flowing through his veins, energizing him even better than the darkest coffee.

Despite all, he still managed to maintain a slight hope that all was just a dream. Maybe not the gauntlet part, he corrected himself, as rejecting something he could see and feel was a difficult thing. In that way, the madness lay. Still, there was the hope that the other parts were just a figment of his imagination; fake girlfriend with midnight black wings, burning spears made from pure light, and a flash crimson hair that came to his field of vision just before he fainted, and the wound that drained him of his life-blood…

He decided to solve it once and for all. He would check his wound, to see whether he had a wound there. With that in mind, he stood up and pulled his pajama top, hoping only to see his flat stomach, sculpted by his ambitious exercise program…

But he found a big, red, ugly scar on his left side instead, the exact spot that was penetrated by the spear of light. It didn't look like a recent wound. It was months-old, or at least it appeared so, but that didn't change its importance. It was there, evidence of a wound he hoped to be imaginary. "Fuck," he murmured. What had he done to deserve finding himself middle of something clearly supernatural like this? He was just a normal high school student working towards his perfectly reasonable goal of having a harem!

But a magical gauntlet in his arm, and memories of a barely unsuccessful assassination attempt in his mind, it didn't take a genius to realize his life was about to change, for good or not, he didn't know. After a moment's indecision, he shrugged, trying to look at the positive side. Maybe the sudden supernatural turn would make his life's objective of having an amazing harem easier.

Just the thought about his future life was enough to destroy the cloud of depression that was threatening to set over him. He jumped off his bed, though he wasn't ready for jumping three meters forward. His reflexes were the only reason he hadn't head-butted the wall painfully. "Okay," he murmured. "Apparently, the rush of energy I feel isn't just a figment of my imagination." He felt curious about the exact effect of the gauntlet. He was feeling stronger, but for how much, he wasn't sure. He walked towards the corner of the room, where he kept his weight training materials, and reached for a mid-sized dumbbell, one he would normally struggle to curl, only to be able to treat it like it weighed as much as a water bottle. "Curious," he murmured, and moved to the next weight.

Five minutes later, he was looking at his gauntlet once more, this time with astonishment. He was easily able to curl his previous bench-press record, an unbelievable achievement to itself. Moreover, he didn't even felt tired, not even a bit. More testing was required, he decided, and not just because he felt curious about the changes. He wanted to be ready in the case of something unexpected happening again.

He had a feeling that it wasn't the last time he saw his killer date.

* * *

Three hours later, he was walking towards the school after a quick break for a shower and a change. He was dressed in his school uniform, and his gauntlet was absent. He was lucky that summoning and dismissing the gauntlet was pretty straightforward, requiring just a thought. He was tired from all the exercises, and the mortal wound he received the previous night wasn't exactly beneficial in that dimension.

It was an interesting activity, trying to examine the changes in his body. He hadn't realized the rush of energy wasn't limited to the times when the gauntlet was apparent. Even without it, his body felt different, though, in what way, Issei wasn't sure. But the improvements weren't just simple incremental changes. During his tests, he managed to run hundred meter dash in less than five seconds, and he managed to benchpress more than half a ton relatively easily. Not to mention, if his basic tests were accurate, even his thoughts were faster compared to yesterday.

Still, none of the changes surprised him as bad as the sudden prodigal understanding of any written and spoken language. All the others, he could try to find a rational explanation for, but sudden and perfect comprehension of any written language defied any explanation. He even managed to score perfectly in Mandarin, Polish, and Swahili reading comprehension tests he took online, underpinning the ridiculousness of his situation.

Though, not all changes were positive, he noted as he sent an annoyed glare to the Sun. Whatever happened to his body also brought an extreme sensitivity towards the light, so much that he could actively feel every second he spent under its angry gaze sapping a bit of his energy.

With his mind busy comprehending the changes he went through, it wasn't unexpected that he had missed a certain presence hiding in the gate's shadow. "Hyoudou Issei," a familiar voice intoned. "You are late."

It was a voice Issei normally welcomed, leveraging those opportunities to try seducing the source despite his non-existent progress, but in his current exhausted state, it felt like a chore. He turned towards the source. "Kaichou," he said simply.

"You're late," Sona repeated, both her face and her voice impassive as usual. "I distinctly remember a deal that requires you to arrive the school in time, one you agreed after your latest mishap."

Issei struggled to prevent a blush appearing on his face at the mention of the event, though he wasn't sure about his success. "Sorry to break it, but I was a bit under the weather," Issei said. An unfamiliar expression flashed on Sona's face, but it was gone before Issei could identify.

"Nothing serious, I presume," Sona said, her face stony once again.

"I feel better already," Issei answered. "I need to go if I'm to catch the next class," he added, and walked away. Normally, he would have spent a few minutes trying to rile up the thorny, yet beautiful flower of the student council, but he wasn't in the mood, listless and irritated under the angry glare of the Sun. Later, he promised himself, despite the low probability of his eventual success. She was obsessed with chess, and he had a hunch that she wouldn't be really attracted to anyone unless they were able to stand their ground against her. Which was a big problem. She was amazing at chess, and Issei doubted he would be able to reach her level without studying for years, making her a long-shot at best.

Distracted by his thoughts, he was barely paying attention as he traversed the corridors when he received a sudden shout from his survival instincts. He ducked, and the sharp sound of a wooden shinai hitting to the concrete wall filled the corridor. Issei raised his eyes, only to see the captain of the Kendo club, Katase, standing in front of him, his sword extended above his head, anger distorting her sweet face. "Worm," she said, her anger palpable, then threw the ruined remains of his camera on his feet. Several other members of the club standing behind her, sporting their own shinais didn't make him any more comfortable about the whole situation.

Damn, Issei thought, looking at the camera he had hidden on one of the unused lockers. With that camera discovered, he only had four cameras left in the girls' locker room, which meant his 360-degree coverage was compromised. Still, Katase was already recovered from her missing strike, readying another one, which gave him more priority issues. "You'll never take me alive," Issei exclaimed, and dashed away, a smile on his face. Only after he took several steps, the distance between him and the others stretching unbelievably long, Issei remembered to limit his speed to believable levels.

Still, even with the limit, Issei was far too proficient in running away from furious groups of women, and soon, he managed to ditch his followers as he sneaked towards the rarely used storage section of the school, conveniently located in the basement. Soon, he was in the storage room, safely away from his angry followers.

Or so he thought, until he felt the familiar presence of a shinai pressing to his back. "I found you, you bastard," said Murayama, vice-captain of the Kendo club. Her voice was angry, but it was a different anger than Katase's, laced with playfulness.

"Really," Issei said even as he turned towards her in a lightning, grabbed her sword, and pulled it off her hands with one hard tug. "What are you going to do, now that you found me, but without your precious weapon."

"Give me my shinai-" she started, only to get silenced when Issei took a step towards her and pressed his lips to hers. She stiffened for a second before she placed her hands on his torso, but on his back instead of his torso. She pressed her fingers into his skin, hard enough to risk drawing blood, but Issei didn't break the kiss. Though, he doubted he would be able to, with one of her hands back of his neck, holding firmly, ensuring he wouldn't be able to pull back easily.

Not that it was a problem. He pressed his tongue against her lips, which parted in a familiar manner, ready to accommodate his presence. Their kiss lasted until she pulled away from Issei for a breath, though Issei was unprepared for the slap that was followed her.

"What was that for," Issei asked puzzled, but not overly disturbed. Murayama had always been a girl with violent tendencies, and that made her even more attractive.

"That's because you didn't come to the club room last evening, leaving me waiting," she said in anger.

"I told you, girl, I had another date," Issei answered in exasperation.

She looked at him angrily. "No, you most certainly didn't tell me anything like that, not that I would believe such an empty boast even if you told me. Who would date a pervert like you," she said scathingly.

"Apart from a certain kinky vice-captain of the Kendo Club," Issei answered, holding himself back from giving other names. He knew that half the reason she pushed him like that was to learn who else he was being together with. Issei might be a shameless pervert, but he had some principles, his aversion to kissing and telling being one of them.

"Don't be a braggart, Issei, who would date with a shameless pervert like you," she said.

Issei barely held back a laugh, impressed with her ability to double-think. Here she was, admonishing him about his perversion and his lack of attractiveness even as her hands were passing over the buttons of her shirt, revealing her bra to his gaze. She was weird…

But it was a certain kind of tasty weirdness, backed by a stunning body she kept in excellent shape with daily exercises, so Issei said nothing about her hypocrisy as he watched Murayama reducing her clothing just to a skirt, the shape of her firm breasts highlighted by the soft light in the room. The view was enough to trigger an arousal thick enough to strain his self-control, thick enough to burn the last remaining pieces of his lingering exhaustion.

His energy renewed, he leaned to her lips once more. This time, she wasn't passive like a moment ago. Her lips did her best to devour Issei's, her tongue battling for supremacy in a skirmish it was destined to lose. A detail she didn't care much, evidenced by her hands, busy trying to get Issei away from his clothes. Issei's hands focused on her naked skin, caressing her spectacular breasts. She had one of the best breasts in the whole school. It wasn't as good as Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima of course, but unfortunately, these women lay outside Issei's reach. They weren't interested in him, evidenced by their dismissive attitude first few times Issei tried to seduce them, and Issei didn't have any excuse for repeated contact, which in turn allow Issei to slowly work to build an attraction.

At least for Rias, he corrected himself. There was one opportunity he could use to get closer to Akeno, but he rejected it out of principle. Akeno, in one of the rare times they were able to talk, implied that she might be interested to play with him if he takes the submissive position. Unfortunately, that was unacceptable for Issei. After all, how could he become the harem king if he became the plaything of a woman, no matter how attractive she was.

A set of nails, scratching his skin hard enough to leave red thin lines, brought him back to the present. Murayama pulled out of the kiss, her expression smug. "This is the punishment for getting distracted," she said.

"So, we are moving to the punishment stage then," Issei said in a perfectly calm tone, even as he unbuckled his pants and pulled his cock out. The sudden mixture of panic and arousal in her eyes was delicious, but Issei put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her on her knees, and before she could say anything, his shaft was already inside her mouth.

Murayama showed no sign of discomfort with the Issei's way of silencing her. Her wet lips wrapped around his girth, her head bobbed back and forth, causing a sharp burst of pleasure inside him. But the pleasure awakened a set of instincts, overwhelming Issei's mind. When he realized what was going on almost a minute later, his hands were already firmly on her head, keeping it in place as he pushed his shaft mercilessly deep into her throat. Thankfully, Murayama seemed satisfied with the sudden change of pace, only occasional gagging interrupting her moans. Seeing no reason to change the pace since she apparently had no problem with rougher than his usual treatment, Issei turned his thoughts inward, trying to think the reason for his sudden change.

The answer was hard to find. It had been less than twenty-four hours since the almost successful attempt on his life, an attempt that changed his body radical enough that he was outside what he could call baseline human. The sudden increase of aggression could be a side-effect of that, or it could be also about the physiological impact of his recent brush with death. He shrugged, not overly concerned with it. As long as he could combat them through rough sex, they weren't really a threat.

Deciding to cut his thoughts short, he turned his attention back to the service he was still receiving, Murayama's lips, a bit bruised due to his rough attention, was still around his shaft, trying to extract his release, but with a slight difference. Her tongue also joined the fray, assisting her lips in their task of bringing his release.

It was better not to keep such a beautiful woman waiting, Issei thought even as he leaned forward and captured her breasts, perky and perfectly shaped, and sank his fingers into her tantalizing flesh. She continued bobbing her head, not even registering the absence of hands. It hadn't taken long until Issei felt something trigger inside himself. Murayama pulled a few seconds later, her mouth filled with the pearly liquid, in which she spat on the ground next to her, her face blurred with pleasure.

Issei was suddenly struck with a temptation to punish her for her insolence, wasting his seed, but he held himself back the last second, realizing the ridiculousness of the situation. Apparently, his instincts might be a bigger problem than he initially envisioned.

Still, it wasn't all bad, Issei thought as he noticed his cock coming back to life just seconds later instead of the minute it usually takes. He grabbed and lifted Murayama, her weight almost feather-like thanks to his recent boost in strength. When he lay her on the table, could touch of the table brought her back to the land of consciousness, Issei already between her legs, pulling her panties, soppy wet with her arousal. She waited until she was free of the constraint her panties afforded, then parted her legs, her nether lips glistening in invitation.

Issei barely kept himself from snorting in amusement, knowing it wouldn't be welcome at this stage. He was always struck by how easy was to destroy all self-control they displayed despite all the anger and condemnation they had about the evil of the perversion. A statement Issei disagreed vehemently, sex, female body, and masturbation were the great gifts the Creator gave the humanity, claiming they were evil was the real Devil's work.

Still, Issei wasn't a man that could spend too much time with his thoughts when a pair of legs were parted invitingly in front of him. He pushed forward, about to push inside her, only to be interrupted by the door opening, followed by a cry of feminine fury, coming from a familiar voice. A sound which belonged to the captain of the Kendo club, Katase.


	2. Chapter 2

Issei was about to push his shaft inside Murayama when he was rudely interrupted by Katase, who dashed the short distance between the table and the door and stood next to them, her face filled with fury. "What the fuck is going on here, explain!"

"Captain!" Murayama cried in panic as she tried to rise, but Issei's hold on her legs preventing her from rising properly. Thankfully for her, Katase was looking angrily at Issei, clearly prioritizing his blame over hers.

Issei felt annoyed. Normally, it wouldn't bother him much, he would have acted to salvage the situation without it escalating more, but for some reason, he didn't want to do that today. "What exactly you are expecting to hear there, Katase," Issei said in a bored tone, even as he placed his hand on Murayama's shoulder, and pushed her back, her entrance aligned with his shaft once more. "Even for you, it should be easy to understand what's going on, or should I draw some pictures," he continued, even as he pushed himself in Murayama, her moan echoing in the room. The sound of his shaft sliding inside her filled the room, accompanied by occasional gasps, while Katase stood still, shocked into silence.

For Katase, aftershock came the anger, a shift Issei easily read in her face. She let out a warcry and swung her shinai, aiming for his head, putting enough power behind the blow to crack his skull before the transformation. But, after his most recent changes, it wasn't a threat to him, he realized even as his hand rose to the path of the blade, which collided with his skin with a loud thud. A blow that, before his transformation, would cause him to crawl on the ground in pain, clutching his broken hand, but now, he barely felt the sting. Nor acting fast enough to catch the sword had been difficult. He pulled the shinai of her hand like he did to Murayama minutes ago, and threw it away. Katase was shocked into silence once more, and Issei had no intention of catering to her before he attained his own release. "Sit down and be silent, I'll come to you after I'm finished with Murayama," he ordered, his voice much harder than his usual tone, colored deep with authority.

He realized what he said after he already completed his sentence, but it was already too late to fix it. He half expected for Katase blow up in anger, trying to punch him, or throwing some of the junk lying around, head as her target. But, much to his surprise, she just followed his order, walked to a nearby desk and sat down, her back turned at them. "Curious," he murmured, even as he reached and sank his fingers into Murayama's tits, enjoying the texture of her flesh. Interested in the sudden turn of events, Issei decided to push his luck even more. "Don't look away, turn your face to me!" he ordered, even as he continued impaling Murayama repeatedly, his hands arresting the movement of her tits.

Surprisingly, Katase followed his directions once more. When she tried to open her moment to say something, Issei was ready to keep the momentum. "No, you will be silent, you will keep your eyes open, and you will watch as I fuck your vice-captain. That's your punishment for interrupting me rudely," Issei continued, half expecting it to finally push her into a blind rage.

"But," Katase mumbled, stammering. It was clear that her earlier outrage was drowned by the sudden turn of the situation, leaving a putty in her place. It made sense, Issei realized, one of her key aspects of identity, her Captaincy, was under a successful assault from two different directions. The simple, but effective way she had been disarmed, negligently like she was nothing but a petulant child, and her loyal vice-captain twisting under pleasure under Issei's insistent attention while disregarding her presence completely. And that was on top of the fact that she was watching two people having hot, passionate sex despite being fully aware of her presence, even forcing her to watch. All considered, it was a small miracle that she hadn't fainted.

Still, Issei hadn't acted to capitalize the situation yet, deciding that letting Katase boil at her own pace would be more helpful. Instead, he turned his attention back to Murayama, who was struggling to pay attention to the events that were happening in the room, far too distracted by Issei's attention invading her core without mercy. Meanwhile, Issei continued to check Katase's expression discretely through a cracked mirror on the wall, making sure that the situation hadn't devolved in a direction he didn't want.

He was satisfied to notice that as Katase watched them, her face turned a deep pink, bright enough to match her hair, her eyes glued to their rhythm, making no attempt to hide her look, unaware that she was being observed. For all the times she tried to humiliate Issei for being a pervert, it seemed like she wasn't completely void of that particular vice herself. She looked far too engrossed with what was going on to be anything else. Issei could see her arm twitching occasionally, whether she wanted to brain him or wanted to bring her to the finish line he didn't know, but he was willing to bet it was the second case.

Murayama, grabbed Issei's arm and pulled herself up, his girth still inside her. A glance on her face showed that she was being neglected by the attention he was paying Katase instead of her. Her arms wrapped around his torso, her chest pressing against his, her lips exploring his neck with a burning enthusiasm. Issei took a tight hold of her waist and stood up, the gravity pushing his shaft even deeper into her, something she enjoyed immensely if the sudden jump in her voice could be taken as a reliable sign.

Issei walked across the room, Murayama moaning louder with each step, and Katase's eyes attentively trailing their every step, her lips parted to allow her excited breathing to flow unimpeded. It was a beautiful view in Issei's opinion, which made him a bit disappointed that he hadn't tried to seduce Katase before. He had always thought Katase was a man-hater, which would have made seducing her a waste of time, requiring far too much effort even successful. But now, Issei realized the depth of his error as he assessed her. Apparently, she was very much a classic tsundere, with a fetish for domination for added benefit, evidenced by the speed she had folded after the brief display of physical superiority from Issei. He was excited to compensate for the lost opportunities.

His attention was pulled back to the beauty in his lap once more, this time the way she tightened around him, her warmth compounded as her body caught in an insistent tremor, her head thrown back. Tremors subsided soon after, and she hanged limply around him. A fact that would be very bad normally, as Issei was not even close to being satisfied. In a different situation, he would be covering Murayama's body with playful bites, hoping to revitalize her.

But luckily, he had another option, who was sitting on the desk, aroused enough that a couple of select words could push over the edge, waiting conveniently for his attention.

He carefully placed the spent figure of Murayama on a clean looking gym mat, then, turned towards Katase, whose legs were pressed together in a vain attempt to bring some release. The expression on her face was suggesting that a climax of her own was even closer than Issei had assumed.

That would not do, Issei thought as he walked towards her, his shaft swaying with each step, something Katase also noticed, her eyes tracing its movements like she was hypnotized. She said nothing until Issei was next to her, then she opened her mouth to speak, only to get silenced by a finger pressing to her lips. "It's time for your punishment," Issei whispered into her ear, happy to notice that instead of trying to lean away, she leaned forward, their bodies touching for a moment, letting Issei enjoy her trembles of arousal.

Issei sat next to her but said nothing. Then, before she could react, he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her forward hard enough to unbalance her, and she found herself lying on his knees, her belly pressing to his thighs, her bottom conveniently accessible for his hand. Without bothering to say a word, Issei's hand landed on her bottom, the sound rang in the room, mixed with Katase's surprised cry. But no words of protest left her mouth, so Issei's hand landed on her bottom once again, once again echoing the room alongside her cry, less surprised and more hearty this time.

Before he raised his hand for the third time, he grabbed the hem of her skirt and pulled up, leaving her bottom almost bare, only her panties to protect her shapely cheeks, a comprehensive, ugly piece that damaged the beauty of the scene. That wasn't going to fly, Issei decided. He grabbed the edge of her panties and pulled down in one smooth motion. Katase tried to speak, but before she could even complete the first word, Issei's hand landed on her bare bottom, the sound, this time much sharper, echoed in the room.

"It hurts," Katase moaned, but she hadn't made even the slightest effort of to get away, proving the emptiness of her words, a message that was contradicted by the low moans that followed her words.

"Good," Issei said. "How else you are going to learn your lesson." He could feel her getting closer to a release. He spanked her once more, but this time, he didn't pull his hand away. Instead, he grazed his fingers over her rapidly reddening bottom, contrasting the earlier assault of pain. He could feel she was skirting the edge of the climax. The next spank and following caressing proved enough to tip the balance. She started convulsing over his lap, any control she once had over her voice long gone, filling the room with her moans.

However, Issei had no intention of giving her a break. His fingers slid down towards her nether lips, and slid inside her without a warning, and started massaging with full force. The change in Katase's voice was immediate. The earlier cries, while loud, had a lazy quality in them, like a cat enjoying the warmth of the sun after a good meal. The inclusion of the assault from his fingers changed it immensely. Her cries, panicked and surprised, filled the room with their presence in a way her lazy purrs never could.

Issei saw Murayama starting to move once more, an astonished expression on her face as she watched him teaching a long-needed lesson to her captain. Issei continued his attention on Katase's folds, and Murayama shifted into a sitting position, her legs parted apart, displaying her entrance which was currently under the assault of her fingers, enjoying the moment as much as him, her moans joining to Katase's cries.

It was clear that Issei wasn't the only one that was annoyed by Katase's domineering attitude. He raised his free hand and gestured with his finger, summoning her closer. Her excited shiver was visible as she stood up. She walked until she was standing in front of him, with Katase unaware of her presence. Issei pointed the empty space next to him, the space where Katase's head was just an inch away. Murayama looked at him, hesitant despite the excited bloom in her face, but Issei just nodded his head.

Katase was surprised when she noticed Murayama sitting next to her, with her legs at both sides of the table, her pussy almost at her lips. Katase tried to pull back, but Issei was ready for it. His hand pressed to Katase's head, causing her lips to press on Murayama's lower lips. He waited until Murayama started moaning, his other hand still busy with Katase's entrance, pushing his fingers repeatedly, extracting a string of moans off her, muffled by Murayama's presence.

He pulled his hand that was keeping her head pinned when Murayama's moans quickened, but Katase made no move of pulling back, continuing to serve Murayama. He decided Katase deserved a reward for being a good sport, and let his other hand crawl over her body until he reached the front of her shirt, breaking the border created by her buttons, and invaded her bra. He sank his fingers into her flesh, pushing her over the edge for the second time.

A smile appeared on his face as Katase's climax flowed around his fingers, his imagination running wild about the next steps…

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Issei was utterly spent as he left the school building, the beautiful garden of Kuoh academy dressed in shadows. His exhaustion did nothing to limit his happiness though, considering the reason for his exhaustion. They stayed together for several hours, cycling through the positions their imaginations able to come up, and things had become especially enjoyable after they sneaked towards the club room of the Kendo club. Enabled by the huge open space and room-sized showers, Issei was more than happy to test the limits of his recent transformation in relation to his ability in bed.

The results were better than his wildest hopes. Yes, he was a bit exhausted, but considering he spent a better part of the day fucking two beautiful women until they were happily unconscious, it was to be expected, especially since both were extremely fit physically due to daily Kendo practices. A smile appeared on his face as the memory of Katase, pressed on the wall in the shower room, water flowing over her as his cock slid inside her again and again, while Murayama was sitting below, her lips massaging his balls…

He passed through the school gates and stepped into the dark street, barely illuminated by the flickering street lights. A few days ago, Issei would be barely able to see to avoid obstacles, a case that wasn't true for tonight. To his gaze, all details were clear like the middle of the day, even the shadows too deep for the human eye to penetrate hid nothing from his gaze, yet another change borne from his unnatural transformation.

He shrugged, and continued to walk, though he was surprised to notice his exhaustion was disappearing with each step, a complete reversal of the feeling he had in the morning. "Maybe I became some kind of vampire," he murmured to himself. The facts somehow fitted, sunlight irritation, better night vision, enhanced strength… At least he wasn't craving for blood.

Distracted by his thoughts, he noticed the complete absence of people around him too late, when his attention was brought back to the present with the tingling of his sixth-sense. His attention back to the surroundings, he realized he was one side of a small road with trees on both sides, with only the street lamp at the end of the road in a working condition.

Under the street light stood a tall man wearing a trench-coat and a fedora, his fit physique apparent even with the distance between them. The man looked like European, with longish blond hair peeking under his hat. The situation was highly suspicious, but there was something even more important that alerted Issei to the danger of the situation. There was a subtle, yet distinct feeling centered around that man, a feeling that reminded his last unfortunate date, one that ended with a deadly attack.

Issei did the most logical thing he could, turned back and dashed away, his gauntlet already around his arm, enhancing his speed until he was running faster than a horse, taking sudden turns as he passed near parallel streets, hoping that his follower unable to follow his tracks.

Feeling of the wind, mixed with the sound of giant winds told him that the first part of his plan was unsuccessful, but before he could come up with anything else, his danger sense warned him once more, and he swerved to the side, a light spear similar to what Yuna stabbed him with buried on the ground.

Issei felt his anger spiking as he heard a mocking laugh coming from his attacker. He had a nasty feeling that the only reason he was still alive was that the guy didn't bother to push himself too much, enjoying the chase based on the sounds he was making. Still, Issei wasn't ready to surrender and roll the dice for his survival once more. He doubted that his luck would hold. So he continued, adding abrupt turns and twists to his running in in hopes of throwing his aim off until he arrived at a forest or similarly covered area that would negate his flight advantage.

A smile appeared on his face despite the dangerous situation when he saw a construction site nearby. It was even better than a forest. Not only it would be deserted in such hours, it would also have many pieces of steel conveniently lying around conveniently. He dashed forward, the fear of survival-enhancing his speed enough to push him towards the building before his attacker managed to nail him with a spear.

A short, wild, yet happy laugh left his mouth as he slipped inside the building, a bit of his tension draining away from him. He continued deeper inside the building despite being in dire need of a breather, not wanting to catch in an easy location. He only stopped after realizing that his attacker didn't follow him inside, taking deep breaths to stave off his exhaustion. Even with his enhancements, running a few miles at full speed proved to be exhausting.

Suddenly, his danger sense shouted once more, and he tried to throw himself on the ground. But he was only partially successful, because before he could complete his maneuver, some kind of weird, fleshy tentacle burst through the wall, hitting him on the shoulder, hard enough to throw him to the other wall. Issei tried to disregard the pain spreading through his body as a monstrous creature stepped out of the broken wall…


	3. Chapter 3

The creature was the ugliest, most disgusting thing Issei had ever laid eyes upon. It resembled a portrait of a centaur drawn by a painter in an acid trip with more daddy issues than a suicide bomber, after the centaur had lived in Chernobyl for years. Its limbs were crooked pieces of meat decorated by small, non-functional tentacles, a weird duplicate of the main tentacles the creature had instead of arms. Its torso was equally cancerous, dribbled with puss, filled with open wounds, the blood mixed with discharge shining neon. Its flesh looked rotten, with occasional rusty patches, complete with flies, complete with a smell, which would probably be enough to kill him before his transformation.

The worst was its face, Issei noted absentmindedly. He knew that he wouldn't be that repulsed if it was just animal or monster head, or even a bug, which he normally found unbelievably disgusting. However, while it was disgusting, ugly, and shapeless, it was unmistakably human. Even worse, Issei could see that these disgusting lines were noticeably female, but he would die before referring that monstrosity anything other than a thing. Accepting it as a female was treason for everything Issei stood for. Issei vowed himself that he would get stronger, come back, and erase it completely. Such a thing didn't deserve to be alive.

Then the creature opened its mouth, surprising Issei with its ability to speak. It was a voice resembling of rusty nails being rubbed together, but nevertheless a sign of sapience. "Lucky me," the creature said, followed with a creepy laugh. "A prey decided to visit me, saving me from the bother of going out to hunt. How very kind of you, you little devil. I wonder how you're going to taste, crunchy probably."

Issei noticed the creature called him a devil, though the importance of the realization paled when compared to the situation he found himself in, under looming threat from yet another creature that shouldn't exist. Still, he noticed that the creature wasn't in a hurry, acting like it was in absolute control. He decided to ask it a few questions in hopes of distracting it enough to reach a piece of rebar, dislodged by its assault. He didn't know if it would work, but it was better than waiting for death helplessly. He would have turned and run, but he didn't know just how fast were those tentacles, and he was afraid to get caught as he retreated. "Why did you call me a devil?" Issei asked, doing his best to sound curious, even as he started sliding to the side, a motion that managed to slip under the creature's notice.

The creature opened its mouth, and another sound Issei was barely able to categorize as laughter reverberated in the room. "You mean you don't know you are resurrected as a devil. Oh, that's rich." The creature stopped, his gaze firmly on him.

"Resurrected?" Issei murmured even as he slid a bit more. The word had made a weird enough sense, as Issei remembered the excruciating pain he felt under the attack of her fake-girlfriend, followed by encroaching darkness. There was nothing to disprove the fact that he actually died, and being resurrected was no less believable than the situation he found himself in. But once again, he sent his thoughts to the back of his mind. That was a mystery that was best solved after he managed to survive the current mess he had found himself in.

Then, the creature's gaze fell on him. For a moment, Issei was afraid that it realized his objective, but then realized that it was looking at his gauntlet. "So, your king didn't even bother to stick around and inform you about your transformation. Not a surprise," the creature continued with a cruel laugh, or so Issei assumed. Though with the horrible sound it had, every laugh would sound cruel. "Your king probably deserted you when he realized the sacred gear you have is a measly twice-critical, making the acquisition worthless. So he probably hoping you would die by your own, freeing him to pick someone more useful. Pathetic, coward enough to not to deliver the blow himself, but that's the new generation for you. All weaklings, softened by the useless peace."

Busy with his aim of acquiring a weapon, only half-listening the creatures amused tirade, Issei was unprepared for a sudden surge of rage to bloom in his heart when it called his gauntlet useless. The anger filled his veins, causing him to freeze for the moment as he struggled against his instincts, trying to prevent himself to jump against the creature weaponless. The fury he felt was foreign, yet familiar, its intensity surprising, but Issei decided to solve it in a more convenient time, such as when he wasn't facing a deadly monstrosity intent on eating him.

As the creature continued to rumble, Issei managed to reach his target without alerting it. He wrapped his fingers around the rebar, waiting for an opportunity to attack. One such opportunity showed its head a moment later as the creature continued its nonsensical commentary, which Issei recognized as politics of somewhere called underworld. He didn't know whether it was referring to actual hell or just an illegal meeting place. But he was afraid that the first one was the case. After all, he was facing a demon while followed by an angel, why he shouldn't assume that the hell was real as well.

However, the creature's political inclinations also gave him the opportunity to strike. The creature started laughing, impressed by his own joke as it tried to insult a magical girl for some reason. While laughing, its head rose, consequently putting Issei out of its field of view. Issei struck immediately, lacking even the slightest hesitation as he lunged forward, pushing the rusty piece of metal deep into the creature's chest. He would have preferred to target its head, but it was too risky since the creature was far taller than he could reliably reach.

The creature didn't realize the situation he found itself in a moment, freezing, then a pained, deafening cry rang in the room, loud enough to hurt his ears. Issei tried to pull his improvised weapon back, but his struggle was stopped by a tentacle swung towards him, forcing him to throw himself on the ground to avoid decapitation. But his speed proved insufficient, and the attack clipped him in the shoulder. Even the wayward touch was enough to send him flying across the room, his back painfully colliding the wall, the thud echoing in the room.

The rush of adrenaline filling his body helped him to ignore the pain, and he stood up, his legs shaky. Still, he was filled with the realization that it was a close call. Just an inch below, or a second delay, and he was dead, his head smashed. Issei glanced towards the creature, hoping to see a sign that he managed to hit a deadly organ, but unfortunately, the creature was still standing, only angrier.

Issei bolted away, knowing that his advantage coming from being not deemed a threat. He dashed towards deeper into the corridor, getting away from the creature, dodging another tentacle that sent to his way. After he cleared the corridor, then run towards the other end of the building. He hoped that the black winged angel that was stalking him wouldn't be on that side, allowing Issei to give enough time to leave the creature behind. Behind him, he could hear the lumbering steps of the creature, its cries complaining about such a pitiful creature daring to wound it.

Despite all its might, the creature was slower than Issei, not helped by its size restricting him in small corridors. So, Issei reached one of the windows on the ground floor before the creature caught up with him, and was about to jump out, when three spears of light landed just in front of the window, cutting up his escape route, the last one close enough to leave a shallow wound in his leg. Then the angel descended into his field of vision, his handsome face twisted with a cruel smile. Another spear of light appeared in his hand as he made eye contact with Issei, waving amusedly.

Issei pulled back as he tried to block the rush of pain. The wound wasn't too deep, barely deeper than a papercut, but still, it hurt more than any other wound he received. Even the previous spear of light that had been buried in his gut by his fake-girlfriend hadn't hurt as much. Still, the pain was nothing the sudden wave of hopelessness filling his heart. He knew that, if his attacker wanted to, he would have killed him, and caught flat-footed, there was nothing Issei could do to prevent. But he didn't, his attitude making perfectly clear that he saw the situation little more than a fun hunt, with Issei playing the hopeless fox.

He felt stirrings of the anger once again, against the indignity of dismissed throughly. He didn't bother to make a plan to trick the angel to come inside. It was clear that he was aware of Issei's dilemma, and more than happy to wait until Issei tried to leave the building, or perish inside. His laugh, dark and evil in all of its musical perfection, was all the confirmation Issei needed.

For a moment, he felt tears filling his eyes as the hopelessness of the situation filled his heart. Inside was the deformed centaur he just wounded, its lumbering steps getting louder, with a burning fury to take the revenge for his earlier assault. Outside was the black winged angel, waiting for him to appear in a calm leisure. He didn't know whether these creatures were enemies or allies, not that it mattered much. The angel hadn't seemed to care about anything Issei could bring, and he doubted that he could convince the creature for an alliance, not after Issei pushed a rusty piece of metal into its lungs.

So, he grabbed another piece of rebar as a weapon, despite knowing it was barely effective, and moved deeper into the building, hoping to find a convenient location to ambush the creature. With the creature dead, he would be free to wait for angel inside, in an environment that would hopefully give him a fighting chance.

A minute later, he managed to find one such location. A corner dark enough to strain even his improved vision, and plenty of rubbles to hide behind. When the creature walked in, Issei waited, huddled behind a pile of broken wood, waiting for the creature to pass by so he could take it down with a sneak attack.

Only for the tentacles to immediately zero-in to his position. His reflexes were the only thing that saved him from turning into a pile of broken bones. "Impudent weakling," the creature roared. "You think you can ambush me! I will keep you alive for days as I slowly eat you, paying back for your disrespect."

Issei did the only thing he could do. He retreated once more. However, as the minutes dwindled into nothingness, so did his hope. His body was bleeding at several places, and the subsequent attempts he put towards ambushing the creature failed, mostly by creature appearing from an unexpected direction and injuring Issei instead, proving that it knew the building much better than Issei could hope to learn in a few minutes. Next several minutes were filled with a frantic game of cat and mouse, in which Issei only managed to stay ahead due to his superior speed and smaller size. However, the creature, through destroying corridors and positioning itself, managed to push Issei towards the upper floors, where his options of escape paths starting to get increasingly limited.

Soon, he found himself on the highest floor, lacking a ceiling to prevent him from being attacked by the angel. He wasn't around, but Issei knew that he was hiding somewhere around, watching the spectacle. Additionally, Issei could hear the other creature climbing the stairs, its angry steps and arrogant cries easy to recognize.

He was surrounded by two merciless creatures, both far from human in their own ways, both aiming to kill him. Intellectually, Issei knew that he should have crawled into a ball of despair, as there was no way for him to survive the next few minutes. He should have trembled in fear, wept in anguish, holding vigil for his life that was about to end…

Instead, he felt angry.

It was similar to the anger that he felt when the creature insulted his glove, and the angel dared to play him like a prey for a hunting game. Yet, it was different in the way water flowing from the tap different from a huge flood, destroying anything before. Issei felt the rage filling every faced of his being, begging for him to accept it as a part of his being.

Issei accepted.

He felt the anger setting on his vision. Previously, he had heard other people describing it as a red mist that impairs their thoughts, but it felt different for him. It became incredibly easy to think, though he could feel that he was thinking in a primal way. His eyesight sharpened, his hearing became more sensitive, and he started to feel every muscle in his body distinctly as a wave of power invaded in his body.

Amongst all those changes, the transformation of the glove on his hand should have been a useless detail, but somehow, he knew that the new form of his gauntlet was important. He could feel the power invading his body was coming from the gauntlet. But it was different from the way it was earlier. Earlier, for all of its intensity, it was a constant enhancement, same as long the gauntlet stayed the same. With this form, he could feel all aspects of his power increasing with each passing second, slowly at first, then an unstoppable torrent. He felt that there was no limit to his potential…

The creature appeared at the doorway, its face twisted in a sadistic pleasure. It opened its mouth to say something, but it was unable to do so as Issei dashed towards him, his speed comparable to a sports car, and drove his improvised weapon through his open mouth and into its brain, robbing it off any words it could speak, its face stuck in a sadistic smile. Issei kicked the creature at the chest, and it bounced away back into the building like a ball, a sign of the physical boost Issei had received…

Once again, he heard the sound of the wings beating, this time accompanied by a slow clap. He knew that the best strategy would be going back inside the building and face him in a place that favored himself, but he had no intention of lengthening the situation. He dared to challenge Issei, and he would receive the punishment he deserved. He turned to see the angel lazily floating towards him. "Well done, you pitiful devil," he started, only for his smug expression to evaporate when his eyes fell on Issei's gauntlet, and noticing the change.

He started gaining altitude in panic, but it was already too late. Issei already managed to dash until he was at the edge of the building. He trusted his instincts and jumped, finding himself soaring towards the angel with a pair of wings of his own, similar to bats, a glance showed. The angel managed to send several spears of light at him as he tried to get away. Unfamiliar with the mechanics of flight and his wings, Issei was unable to dodge most of the spears, and some spears stabbed into his body. Others, he managed to grab with his hands and smash despite the burning sensation.

Angel panicked more as Issei came even closer, enough that the spear he was holding in his hand dissipated. "Mercy?" he managed to whisper before Issei pushed his gauntleted arm through his chest, angel's face freezing in shock. A victorious cry escaped Issei's mouth even as he dragged to the ground by the struggling body of the Angel. They collided the ground loudly, but the pain from it barely registered to Issei's senses. He pulled his arm out and stood up, albeit with trembling legs, and looked at the face of angel struggling to stay alive.

Maybe, if it wasn't for the pain and anger flowing inside him, Issei would have shown mercy. But he didn't, not after he spent the most horrible moments of his life hunted like a dog while his laughs echoed in his ears like it was a particularly funny puppet show. He brought his armored fist once more, this time pulverizing its head completely. He only felt a grim satisfaction as he looked at the bloody remains.

Then, his wounds and the exhaustion caught with him, his trembling legs failing to support him. He crouched, happy that his wounds were closing slowly, but fast enough to keep the mortal danger away, Issei hoped. He could feel the exhaustion catching up. He wondered whether he would wake up again…

But, just before he collapsed completely, an ornate circle of crimson appeared on the ground, and much to Issei's surprise, Rias Gremory, the idol of the school appeared inside the circle in a light show, dressed in her school uniform, but an overwhelming mantle of black, cracking power around her. But weird enough, despite the mantle of power strong enough to destroy him, Issei felt no threat from her. Issei wanted to say something, but his exhaustion caught up with him. The last thing he saw was the worried expression on her face…


End file.
